You
by MonsieurToast
Summary: As Korra stands waiting at the altar, she thinks back on her life over the past 6 years and everything that's led her to this moment, realizing just how much of an impact Asami has actually had on her and her life. Oneshot; Written for Korrasami Wedding Day.


This is it. Our wedding day... can you believe that? I'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

As I stand here looking back on it all, waiting for you, I think I've realized... it was always you, wasn't it? You were always the one.

Ever since I first came to Republic City, I've been chasing my 'destiny', searching for things that could help me define who I am, both as a person, and an Avatar. I've been desperately searching for something that I can call my own, something that could be my legacy and help me leave my mark on the world, like Avatar Aang before me and countless Avatars before him.

On the path to finding my place in the world, I faced a lot of hardships and I made a lot of mistakes. I lost to Amon, and he took my bending away. I fell for my uncle's tricks, and he used me to release Vaatu back into the world. I failed to stop the Red Lotus from killing the Earth Queen, then got captured and poisoned and nearly killed by their leader Zaheer. It was my failures and my 3 years of healing that led to Kuvira's rise to power and loss of control over her ambition, my failures that created the need for a "Great Uniter" to rebuild an Earth Kingdom completely ravaged by a foe I wasn't prepared to stop, and almost didn't.

But each and every time, when I thought I was at my lowest point and completely alone, you were always there by my side.

At first, you were just a friend - and in the beginning, you weren't even that. In the beginning, I just saw you as competition. I was a headstrong 18-year-old girl who thought she was in love with a guy who had fallen for you, instead. So at first, I didn't like you, and I didn't want to, but you kept trying. You kept trying to be my friend, and to understand me, and eventually, showed me just how wrong I actually was about you.

I thought you were just some stuck-up, prissy rich girl, but the more time I started to spend with you, the more wrong I began to realize I was. I was beginning to realize just how amazing of a person you actually were. You were a racer, an inventor, a genius, a philanthropist, a cunning businesswoman, a hero in your own right;

When your father betrayed me and every other bender in the city, you, as a non-bender, made the difficult choice and stood against the last remaining member of your family and the madman he was following. You helped me stop the Equalist movement and bring peace back to Republic City, and fought tooth and nail to undo the damage your father's actions did to your company. I had never seen somebody be so brave before.

When I lost my bending to Amon, you remained my friend and supported me as best you could, along with Mako, Bolin, Tenzin... everybody. You demonstrated to me that, like them, you genuinely cared for me and were willing to stand by me, even despite how I'd thought of and treated you in the past, even despite everything I'd done. And while it was ultimately Mako and Avatar Aang who helped me through that hardship, your actions during the battle with the Equalists and your kindness jump started our friendship and sent us down the path that's led us here today.

You were the first girl friend I'd ever had. Did you know that? I can remember telling you that once. It was really something else to me, a different kind of friendship. There were things I felt like I could come to you about that I couldn't with anyone else. And as things got rough with Mako and I, the guy we'd both been chasing after not even six months earlier, it became clear that our relationship wasn't going to work out. But while Mako and I grew further and further apart, you and I gradually became closer and closer.

When I left Republic City after being tricked by my uncle into opening the Spirit Portals and starting a war, and after I broke up with Mako, when my actions and mistakes led to Vaatu's release from his Spirit World prison, I permanently lost my connection to the past Avatars. I also let Spirits back into the world and, instead of closing the Portals again like Avatar Wan before me, I chose to let the world change and kept them open.

After that, things just became even more stressful for me, and I was being faced with a lot of challenges I couldn't overcome. I tried to reconnect to my past lives, but I couldn't - that connection was gone forever. I tried to bring balance to this new world of man and spirits, but I couldn't - I had no idea what I was doing and the public hated me. I tried to recruit the new Airbenders that Harmonic Convergence had created, but I couldn't - almost nobody was willing to leave everything they knew behind to help rebuild the Air Nation.

I was beginning to completely lose faith in myself, but you didn't. At times, I felt like I was at the end of my rope. I felt like I was alone, like nobody really understood me, like nobody really trusted me or my decisions anymore.

Nobody except for you.

When I felt like I was alone, you made sure I knew that you were there. When I felt like nobody understood me, even despite your busy schedule and burgeoning company, you took the time to listen to me and my problems and offer me your support. When I felt like nobody really trusted me anymore, you did - you put your faith in me and in my decisions and never for a second questioned them. You did everything you could to stand by me and support me and empower me, everything you could to be my rock.

It was always you, doing what nobody else would, what nobody else could, not for your sake, but for mine. You always seemed to put me before yourself.

When I left to find the new Airbenders, you left everything behind and came with me. When I got caught up in the messes of the Earth Queen, you fought right beside me. When I meditated into the Spirit World to try and stop the Red Lotus and they tried to capture me, you protected me. When we both got captured by the Earth Queen's forces instead, you were the one with the plan who broke us out. When I accidentally got us lost in the desert, you were the one that created an escape.

And when Zaheer had finally succeeded in capturing me and poisoned me, when Zaheer had completely destroyed me, when I was lower than I'd ever been in my life, when I felt like he had taken everything away from me and I would never be the same again, when I had utterly and completely lost all hope... it was you who stood beside me, more than anyone else.

It was you who cared for me, who comforted me, who listened to me. You who let me be vulnerable, who let me feel safe, who let me cry in your arms when I could barely close my eyes without seeing myself dying again and again and again. It was you who told me I was strong and you who gave me hope.

When I felt like nobody believed in me anymore, like I was just damaged goods, you did. You always believed in my strength, even when I didn't. You knew that I could bounce back stronger than before, and you sacrificed a lot in order to try and ensure that I did. You were willing to travel half way across the world in order to live with me and take care of me and help me through my recovery, you were willing to sacrifice whatever you had left just to see me back on my feet.

But I couldn't do that to you. You had already given me so much. You had already given me the first push I needed to set out on that long road to recovery. You had your own life to deal with, your own dreams to chase, so I let you go and set out to rebuild my life on my own. But you never got sad, or angry, no matter how long it took. You never got offended that I wanted to do this on my own. You understood me, like you always had. You knew from the very beginning that this was something that I'd have to try and overcome on my own and that I wouldn't have it any other way.

But even after I had left, you never stopped supporting me. You always wrote to me. You always told me about how you and Republic City were doing, how you'd re-dedicated the park in my honor, how you missed me and how things just weren't the same without me. You told me that you still believed in me and that I could overcome this, that you still cared about me and that I was still important to you. You hadn't forgotten. You hadn't given up.

You told me before I left that I could talk to you about anything, and you reaffirmed that position again and again in your letters. You were patient, and supportive, and understanding, and though it took me a while to find the strength and the words, I did finally reply to you. And you helped me through it. You gave me strength and inspired me to get back to Republic City and finish healing there. But things didn't go as I had planned.

I wasn't as ready as I thought I was, and I got scared. I was having visions of myself in the Avatar State and I was still flashing back to Zaheer, I still felt like I was broken, like I was dying. I lied to my parents and traveled the world and Republic City for 6 months before finding Toph, removing the last of the poison from my body and finding the courage to come back. And while at first it was a little awkward and we kind of got off on the wrong foot again, it wasn't long before you and I were back to how we were before. In fact, we were even closer.

All that time in the South Pole reading your letters and trying to write back to you helped me put things into perspective. It let me think about you, and me, and how I really felt about you. It made me realize how much I'd come to care about you, and how much you really cared about me, which until that point, I'd never really paid much mind and always just chalked up to simple friendship. That was when I realized... I loved you. And you loved me. And that was the last push I needed to get back on my feet and beat Zaheer's memory and his poison, once and for all.

And when we finally had some time to ourselves after we'd beaten Kuvira and attended Varrick's and Zhu Li's wedding, we began to make our feelings for one another clear. There was no more beating around the bush, nothing else left to get in our way. We set out for the Spirit World together, and by the time we stepped through that portal, we weren't just friends, we were lovers.

We were both the happiest girls alive, and we still are to this day. It's hard to believe it's already been 2 years since then. So much has happened it's been hard to keep track of. From the restructuring of the Earth Kingdom into independent states to the reconstruction and expansion of Republic City to our vacation and our betrothal...

I still remember our first night together, both in the Spirit World and the Physical World. I remember telling my parents about us for the first time, as well as Tenzin and the kids. I remember the day I first moved into your mansion, and said goodbye to Air Temple Island. I remember breaking the news to Mako and Bolin. Poor Mako, he genuinely didn't see it coming. It was kind of hilarious, you'd think a detective would've put two and two together earlier than that, huh?

I've shared a lot of memories with you, and a lot of firsts... a lot. But there's really no one else I'd have rather shared them with. All my life, I've been looking for something, and I never quite realized what that was until I met you. All these years, I thought what I was looking for was my destiny, my place in the world, and I guess in a way, I found that in you, too, but what I was really looking for was balance. And you... you are my balance.

Finally, I see you walking down the aisle in a dress whiter than southern snow, a veil covering your face and flowers in your hand. Even when I can't see you, you're still the most beautiful thing in the room. I've never understood how somebody could appear so flawless before, and I'm probably not going to be figuring it out anytime soon, but that's okay. I don't really need to. All I need is you.

I can't help but feel just a little bit anxious... this is really happening, isn't it? I reach up and adjust my suit's tie, biting my lip. In a few more minutes, we'll be...

You take your spot next to me and I lift the veil from your face. You smile at me, and I smile back. Yours has always been the most infectious. One small hint of a grin, and my face just can't help but follow suit.

Just as he did for Varrick and Zhu Li, Bolin is the one who's going to be presiding over our wedding today. It made sense. He's always been one of our closest friends, and he has the qualifications. He's almost been as excited about this thing as we've been. Smiling, he looks at both of us. It's time.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the marriage of two of Republic City's - no, two of the world's most powerful, influential women: our Avatar, Korra, and Future Industries' stunning CEO, Ms. Asami Sato. Over the last 6 years alone, these two women have done more for our world together than some Avatars have done in their entire lifetimes, and along the way, they've found not just peace, and balance, but also love. And it is that love which brings us here today. And now... the vows."

I gulp a little. I've never been the best with crowds. You sense my nervousness and seamlessly motion to Bolin to present to you first, giving me another moment to prepare myself.

"Do you, Ms. Asami Sato, head of Future Industries and the bridge between nature and technology, bender and non-bender, take the lovely Avatar Korra to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love her, and support her, and to stand by her side no matter how stacked the odds might be against you, in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad?"

"I do. Always." You reply. My smile grows just a little bit wider.

"And do you, Avatar Korra of the Southern Water Tribe, the bridge between the Physical and Spiritual worlds and the defender of peace and balance, take Ms. Sato to be your lawfully wedded wife? Do you promise to love and support her as she has always loved and supported you, to never give up and keep on fighting for the world and for her, no matter what? Do you promise to stand by her side and to protect and empower her and help her make her dreams of a truly united world of harmony between man, spirits and nature a reality?"

"I do." I reply. Of course I do. You know that. You've always known that. You've always known a lot of things. That's always what's made you so easy to talk to... you understand me more than anyone. You share my dreams and my aspirations, my hopes. You complement me and complete me and... ...you are everything I could ever want. Everything I need. Everything I've always been waiting for, searching for. You are my everything.

Bolin nods, smiling. "You may now kiss the bride - both of you."

We both smile at each other one more time, happy to comply. You pull me a little bit closer while I stand somewhat on the tips of my toes, loosely wrapping my arms around the back of your neck while you reach around my waist. I meet you in the single most passionate kiss we've ever shared. I can feel the sparks of a whole new world exploding into existence between our lips, our life's stories and all our personal hopes and dreams and fears and joys and everything colliding and intertwining once and for all in this one single moment.

And in this moment, I realize all over again what it is to be in love and what it is that made me fall in love with you, everything we've been through filling my head one more time, every cell in my body feeling as though it was rejoicing in unison with my head and with my heart, and with the crowd of loved ones we have gathered out in front of us. Cameras flash as we pull apart. I can see tears of joy in your eyes. I'm surprised - I thought I'd be the one to cry. I can't help but laugh, just a little bit.

We finally did it. As of today, we're no longer friends, or girlfriends, or fiancees, but wives. As of today, we will be spending the rest of our lives together as one, for better and for worse - though I'm sure there will be far more 'better' than not.

And as I take it all in one last time, I'm sure:

There is no one I would rather spend my life with than you.


End file.
